Key Takeaways
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- Highguard will shut down on March 12, marking the end of its turbulent run due to a combination of factors such as controversy over its launch, poor design choices, negative online feedback, and lack of post-launch financial support.
- Josh Sobel, Wildlight Entertainment technical artist, publicly apologized for his heated social media posts during the games launch, attributing them to stress, sadness, and anger caused by minimal sleep and layoffs at Wildlight.
- The closure of Highguard serves as a cautionary tale about launching new shooter games in an oversaturated market.
- Attention is now being focused on Marathon as Highguards servers prepare to go offline.
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Highguard will officially shut down on March 12, concluding a brief but turbulent period for the service-based game. The developers released a final content update before the shutdown. The closure follows controversy surrounding the game’s rocky launch, including heated social media posts by Wildlight Entertainment technical artist Josh Sobel. Sobel publicly apologized on March 11, 2026, after a month-long absence from social media, stating that while he stands by the content of his message, he regrets the way it was expressed. He explained that the February message was driven by stress, sadness, and anger stemming from minimal sleep and layoffs at Wildlight. Sobel believes the “persecution” of the game and subsequent toxicity significantly impacted its health. While acknowledging the December negativity played a role, he maintains that Highguard’s rapid decline resulted from numerous factors, not solely internal personnel decisions. Sobel’s original comments were deleted after the social media outburst. Poor design choices, negative online feedback, and a lack of post-launch financial support contributed to Highguard’s financial struggles. According to the source article [link provided], the game’s closure serves as a cautionary tale about launching new shooters in an oversaturated market.
Highguard’s Closure Sparks Attention to Marathon Player Boost
As Highguard’s servers prepare to go offline, those who have been tracking its Steam player numbers are turning their attention to Marathon.
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| Specification | |
|---|---|
| Official Name | Groove Coaster: Initial Initial Echo Ego |
| Brief Summary | Touhou Project music DLC for Groove CoasterTitle: Initial Initial Echo EgoArtist: RD-Sounds*Arrange from Touhou ShinreibyouDifficulty: Simple 2 / Normal 5 / Hard 8BPM: 156 |
| Genre | Music |
| Play Modes | Single player |
They also talk about it
Links to external sources for further reading
- Highguard technical artist apologizes for outburst amid game's troubled launch and closureHighguard technical artist apologizes for outburst amid game's troubled launch and closurewutshot.com
- Highguard Artist Apologizes for Troubled Game Launch AngerHighguard Artist Apologizes for Troubled Game Launch Angergame-scanner.co.uk
- Highguard Artist Apologizes Online for Misguided Anger over Troubled Game LaunchHighguard Artist Apologizes Online for Misguided Anger over Troubled Game Launchfilmogaz.com